One of the region’s first food truck plazas is getting a revamp, centered around an expanded indoor event space.
9 Mile Garden in Affton, the $4.5 million project of commercial real estate developer Seneca Commercial Real Estate that debuted in July 2020 as the first project of its kind in the state, is expanding with indoor space added next to its existing outdoor plaza at 9375 Gravois Road.
The plan is to move and revise the food truck park’s existing indoor bar area, called The Canteen, by taking over a former retail space next to the food truck plaza, organizers of the development said. The move will allow some of the food truck park’s current outdoor events to shift inside.
The food truck garden plans to take over half the building previously occupied by neighbor O’Reilly Auto Parts, at 9449 Gravois Road, which chose to downsize to half its prior square footage, said Ryan Kelley, event manager of 9 Mile. The space is next to 9 Mile, which hosts a rotating lineup of food trucks, live music, performances and other community events. The new space is owned by an entity affiliated with Affton Plaza, which is also owned by Seneca.
The new 18,000-square-foot indoor event center will include a bar area that will replace The Canteen, as well as a stage for musical acts for concerts, organizers said. It’s intended that the new, larger space could host private events such as weddings and corporate events, but also some of the many outdoor events hosted by 9 Mile.
The new project will be constructed with an outdoor patio with a walk-up bar that will allow people to order directly from 9 Mile, Kelley said. In addition, the roll-up doors at The Canteen will be moved to the new building. The indoor bar area will hold 200 to 250 people.
It’s hoped that the indoor space could be open by early 2026, Kelley said. Development costs were not disclosed. BEX Construction Services of Maryland Heights was the contractor selected to complete the work, Kelley said.
The plan has emerged at the same time that The Canteen @ 9 Mile Garden will be converted to an undisclosed marijuana dispensary. The plan is for The Canteen to remain operating in its current location until the new event center opens, then it will close to make way for the dispensary, Kelley said.
The food truck plaza hosted a few weddings when it first opened and has continued to receive inquiries, but concerns about the weather have caused the garden’s organizers to be hesitant to pursue that line of business, Kelley said. It is thought that when the indoor space opens, weddings could be held in the garden with receptions in the indoor event center. The food truck garden currently hosts a number of events in its outdoor space that could be held inside, and the flexibility of the indoor space means 9 Mile is considering adding new types of events, such as wrestling or pop-up markets, Kelley said.
Although the idea of the expansion has been considered for awhile, the food truck garden has at times struggled more than it should have in July and August due to the weather forcing the cancellation of scheduled events, Kelley said. The garden set its bar sales record in June and had an “extremely strong” May, setting the daily bar sales record for its Almost Warped Tour concert event and the sales record for one concert on Emo Night, Kelley said.
Having a backup plan to be able to move events during inclement weather should help solve that issue long term, he said.
“We don’t have to worry about weather, and we can go through and do ticketed events, special events, and take our vision even larger, while still keeping the garden,” Kelley said.
The outdoor areas of the food truck garden will continue to have fire pits and fans, and the plan is to add more shade to make it more palatable to hang out there during the summer, Kelley said.
St. Louis County records show that the Gravois Road property where 9 Mile Garden is located is owned by Affton Plaza JV LLC, an entity tied to Seneca CRE, led by President Larry Chapman. Chapman partnered with Brian Hardesty to open 9 Mile Garden, and then in 2022 to open the similar food truck-centered concept, Frankie Martin’s Garden in Cottleville.
